KENOSHA, Wis. — Protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear after Kenosha police shot and wounded a Black man, apparently in the back, while responding to a call about a domestic dispute. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers promptly condemned the shooting Sunday of 29-year-old...
Analysis: Will California Really Change Policing?
It’s crunch month for California legislators who promised sweeping reforms in response to the police killing of George Floyd and the protests his death unleashed. Yet some social justice advocates doubt that politicians’ stomachs for change are as strong as their rhetoric: A Senate bill to excommunicate corrupt or misbehaving...
Thousands Flood Belarus Capital as Election Protests Grow
MINSK, Belarus — Tens of thousands of people flooded the heart of the Belarus capital of Minsk on Friday in a show of anger over a brutal police crackdown this week on peaceful protesters that followed a disputed election, as authorities sought to ease rising public fury by freeing at...
Ex-Cop’s Video Captures Crowd’s Horror During Floyd Arrest
MINNEAPOLIS — Newly released body-camera video from a third officer involved in George Floyd’s arrest captures for the first time the growing horror of onlookers who repeatedly pleaded with the officers to get off Floyd. The video made available Thursday comes from fired Officer Tou Thao, one of four former...
Seattle Police Chief to Resign Following Department Cuts
SEATTLE — Seattle's police chief says she is stepping down, a move made public the same day the City Council approved reducing the department by as many as 100 officers through layoffs and attrition. Carmen Best, the city’s first Black police chief, said in a letter to the department that...
Los Angeles Deputy Says Colleagues Are Part of Violent Gang
COMPTON — A violent gang of Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who call themselves “The Executioners” control a patrol station in Compton through force, threats, work slowdowns and acts of revenge against those who speak out, a deputy alleges in a legal claim. Austreberto Gonzalez, a former Marine and a...
Some Educators of Color Resist Push for Police-Free Schools
DENVER — School districts nationwide are working to remove police officers from campuses, but some Black and Indigenous educational leaders are resisting the push prompted by the national reckoning over racial injustice and police brutality. Some say the system is hamstrung by a complicated mix of police response policies and...
National Guard Officer Challenges Account of Violent Clearing of Protesters
The U.S. Park Police and Secret Service violently routed protesters from Lafayette Square last month without apparent provocation or adequate warning, immediately after Attorney General William Barr spoke with Park Police leaders, according to an Army National Guard officer who was there. The account of National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco challenges the...
Berkeley Moves Toward Pulling Police From Traffic Enforcement, Homeless Calls
SAN FRANCISCO — After hours of emotional public testimony and a middle-of-the-night vote by Berkeley leaders, the progressive California city is moving forward with a novel proposal to replace police with unarmed civilians during traffic stops in a bid to curtail racial profiling. The City Council early Wednesday approved a...
Berkeley to Consider Removing Police From Traffic Stops
SAN FRANCISCO — The city of Berkeley, east of San Francisco, is considering a proposal to shift traffic enforcement from armed police to unarmed city workers in a bid to curb racial profiling and reduce law enforcement encounters that can turn deadly, especially for Black drivers. Experts say they believe...